Female Disruptors: Dr Jenny Finn of Springhouse On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Finally, the last piece of advice is from my husband. He has taught me to see the beauty in the moment and not seek happiness through novelty or attention and praise. I have two examples of this. One was in my early thirties. I was bored, and probably lonely, and looking for something on the outside to make me happy. At that time, I thought it was moving to the ocean from the mountains of Colorado. He said, “If you can’t walk down our street and see something new, worth noticing, you won’t find it at the ocean either.” He was pointing to my perspective problem, which I wasn’t willing to own at first. I am really glad I listened to him at that time, as I would have been chasing something that I needed to find within me. The second example occurred when I was going to facilitate my very first community dance. I was afraid no one would come. As I walked out, my husband said, “If dancing in that beautiful church with God is not enough, nothing ever will be.” So true. To clarify, God for me is vitality, life, and is known for me in the inner voice I described earlier. I am very grateful for my husband and his words of wisdom.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jenny Finn.
Dr. Jenny Finn has designed structures that foster vitality in people, communities, and organizations for nearly thirty years. Finn’s work has taken many forms, including non-profit direction, trauma and hospice care, spiritual care and hospital chaplaincy, private practice, community-building through the expressive arts, and educational and cultural design. Finn holds a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College and is the Founding Visionary at Springhouse — an intergenerational community in the Blue Ridge Mountains that, for the past eight years, has been building regenerative culture through vitality-centered education that responds to the world’s emerging needs. Springhouse now shares its design principles globally through the Sourced Design Network.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I would be happy to, and, as you might expect from a disruptor, this will be a strange story to most of those who read it. In my early 20s (I am now 50), I had an experience that changed the course of my life forever. I was knee-deep in alcohol addiction at a young age, causing damage mostly to myself, but also to those around me. One night, I was at a fraternity party, very intoxicated, and heard something within me say, “Put the drinks down. You will never drink again.” At 20 years old, I listened, which is frankly a miracle. It has been 30 years, and I have not had a drink since that night. I have listened to that intuitive voice that has led me all over the world into very interesting “career” paths, including directing a nonprofit that brought people of different backgrounds together around the dinner table; leading dance with hundreds of people on a study abroad program aboard a ship; working in spiritual care in a trauma department and hospice; mentoring hundreds of people and organizations who wish to return to a greater sense of vitality in their lives and places; and, finally, founding a school — the last thing I ever thought I would do.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Orienting around something that I ultimately can’t explain has led me into work that demands courage, creativity, clarity, and compassion. For the past three decades, I have moved towards places in our society that are in need of revitalization. Eight years ago, I co-founded a school that is leading the way in regenerative educational and cultural design. The industrial model of education no longer serves the needs of this time, and education is a leverage point to disrupt and redirect culture. Education is the place where adults in power determine what is most important to pass down to our young people. What we are passing down today in education perpetuates an individualistic culture, one where the currency of the community and the connection to this Earth is often ignored. To build a life-giving culture, we must shift the way we define and practice education. At Springhouse, we are disrupting education as it stands, and are now a strong example of a design that is giving hope to others around the world.
We now support those who wish to put vitality at the front and center of their design through the Sourced Design Network through which we offer Sourced Design Labs for participants to work with the design principles in their communities; monthly meetings to support disruptors globally in their vitality-centered design work; an annual gathering that spotlights whole-system design changes; and an 8-month immersive experience for those interested in diving even more deeply into the cultural change work that Springhouse is up to.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This actually isn’t funny, but when you ask about a mistake, this is the one I have to share. This happened right when I was beginning to lead movement and dance experiences as a way to foster vitality in schools. I was with third grade students leading a movement exercise that went something like this: Move like it’s your birthday. Move like you just won an award. Move like your little sister just knocked down something you built. And then I said, Move like your goldfish just died. It seemed like a pretty benign invitation, but when I offered the goldfish prompt, one third grader started to cry — then another, and another — until about a third of the class was crying. I look back now and smile at myself. I tried everything to stop them from crying; after all, I had to get them to math class. When I brought them to the teacher sniffling, she took over, inviting them to sit at the desks and pull out a pencil. I went home and had that terrible feeling that I was in trouble. Sure enough, when I returned the next day, I was called into the principal’s office. He basically said this: “Your work is needed, but you can’t do it here. We don’t have the structures to hold the range of emotions that these children have and neither do most of their families.” I agreed, and then asked, “What do we do then? What do they do with these emotions?” Of course, there was no good answer. I stayed at that school, and we worked through it. To hear the whole story and more, you can listen to a TEDx talk I gave some years ago here.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
What a great, important question. Thank you for this. Since I was 20, I have had a mentor of some kind in my life. A few years after sobering up, at age 25, I was diagnosed with a serious cancer. I had two mentors then: one was a Catholic priest and the other, a former Franciscan monk. These two walked me through a deep crisis of doubt and fear and reoriented me to the voice I had first heard only a few years before. Their faith, rooted in ancient traditions and universal wisdom, pointed me in a direction that only strengthened my desire to be of service to this world. Tom introduced me to a stillness that I hadn’t known before through meditation, and John showed me the power of working with your hands through his love of pruning bonsai trees. Another mentor, Melissa, led me back to a relationship with my body on the dance floor. I apprenticed with her over the course of a year as a young mother and then several years after that. The pain of addiction and cancer lived in my body. Dancing with Melissa allowed me to break through what was holding me back. Melissa said something to me then that I will never forget. She said, “If you are not experiencing any resistance, you are not doing anything new.” I have been very fortunate to learn from some of the great disruptors of our time, including a long-term mentor of mine, who asks me almost every time we talk, “How is your loneliness?” He reminds me that I am not alone and that being a cultural disruptor can be lonely work. He also reminds me that I walk beside many who gather their strength from a deeper source in service to a healthier world.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
To answer this question, we must consider the context of what we are disrupting. We also must consider the why behind the disruptor. What I use to determine whether or not a disruption serves the common good is this: Does this action, or disruptive action, serve life? Does it bring forth more life, more connection, more authenticity to this planet? There are many cultural disruptors who have used various leverage points to change the direction or the agenda of our culture at large. Martin Luther King, Jr is one obvious example of a disruptor who came from a deeply convicted inner place to carry out a movement that made a difference. When disruption is initiated to perpetuate an unsustainable culture, like some of the educational policies that have been passed to solidify the practices of standardized learning and remove the autonomy of the adults in the system, this is not positive, in my opinion. For “things that stand the test of time,” or tradition is another way to say that, if they are traditions that foster vitality, then they stand the test of time because they are rooted in sustainability and care and support something that we need more of to heal and regenerate. If they don’t, and they are oppressive structures that stand the test of time, it is time to disrupt. The question is less for me about whether it is good or bad, and more about does this take care of life. If it doesn’t, disruption is called for.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- The first thing I thought of comes from a 13 c. mystic, Meister Eckhart, who said, “The outer work will never be puny when the inward work is great.” For thirty years, I have focused on getting to know myself — my strengths and my weaknesses. I have opened myself to what I don’t know about me, not resting for too long in a false sense of security. The discipline of cultivating self-awareness does not lead to perfection — it leads to freedom. My life is an example of staying close to my inner compass. I live, and have lived, a beautiful, enriching, adventurous life of service — one that unfolds from the center of me. For this, I am grateful.
- The second piece of advice that came to mind comes from my Dad. When I had cancer, I was going in to have a really painful test done. My Dad had quite the story of his own and climbed mountains that, for many, would have been insurmountable. When I was walking into the test, scared to death about how I would make it through, he said to me, “Ask them how long it will be. Knowing how long I have to make it through something helps me make it through.” Sometimes we can’t know how long something will be, but when we can know, I can parse out my resources to make it through what seems impossible. I sustain myself through difficulty better that way.
- Finally, the last piece of advice is from my husband. He has taught me to see the beauty in the moment and not seek happiness through novelty or attention and praise. I have two examples of this. One was in my early thirties. I was bored, and probably lonely, and looking for something on the outside to make me happy. At that time, I thought it was moving to the ocean from the mountains of Colorado. He said, “If you can’t walk down our street and see something new, worth noticing, you won’t find it at the ocean either.” He was pointing to my perspective problem, which I wasn’t willing to own at first. I am really glad I listened to him at that time, as I would have been chasing something that I needed to find within me. The second example occurred when I was going to facilitate my very first community dance. I was afraid no one would come. As I walked out, my husband said, “If dancing in that beautiful church with God is not enough, nothing ever will be.” So true. To clarify, God for me is vitality, life, and is known for me in the inner voice I described earlier. I am very grateful for my husband and his words of wisdom.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Great question. By creating a network of disruptors! I am the Founding Visionary at Springhouse where I work with an amazing team of adults and teens building regenerative culture right now by disrupting the way we educate and reorienting educational design around taking care of this precious life. We do that through five principles that include:
- Take care of vulnerability
- Cultivate personhood
- Build beloved community
- Respect the wisdom of the Earth
- Love and serve others
Springhouse offers a Day School for teens; we provide programs for adults to wake up to the vitality within themselves and foster life in the communities they live in; and finally, we share our design through the Sourced Design Network, which includes design labs, an 8-month immersive experience, and an annual gathering where vitality-centered practitioners share their experiences from around the world. This year, we are activating our farm (that was gifted to us two years ago) through our Cultural Design Fellowship. This fellowship brings people from around the world to engage in regenerative farm design with the Springhouse community. This, along with our investment model and organizational structure, is culturally disruptive. We have moved this year from a tuition-based model to one of trust and transparency, and we also seek to restore the relationship between humans and the Earth by designing the farm as a healing place that serves the needs of our community. Finally, we also engage in what we call Collective Liberation Work as a community. This work includes examining racism and privilege in creative and courageous ways; offering courses in LGBTQ+ studies for teens and adults; and, beginning this year, exploring our connection to place by learning about the ecology of Floyd County, which includes learning about the indigenous peoples who lived here. These efforts will continue to strengthen Springhouse as a leading example in vitality-centered cultural design.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Another good question. There are many challenges. When I stepped into this position of leading — not just a school, but a cultural movement in whole-system cultural design change starting with education — the resistance was real. Much of it was because we are experimenting with a system like education that hasn’t significantly shifted in a couple hundred years. It is often the fear of change that initiates the criticism, skepticism, and downright judgement. As a woman in this role, I have experienced being devalued by others despite the successes that Springhouse was achieving. I have also felt that my emotions and my passion for this work, which as you now know is deeply personal, are too much — that I should tone it down in some way. I also have experienced, both from within and without, “Who do I think I am to be leading this kind of charge?” As much as devaluing women is part of our societal story, it is my responsibility to find my strength from within and do my work anyway. When we orient around life, and we commit to taking care of vulnerability in a design, everyone is valued — not just human beings, but the other-than-human world, too. Being devalued as a woman has only led me to a greater determination to continue to live and share the message that we have to reorient our cultural design around taking care of life, and we’ve got to start with education. The evidence is clear — many societal institutions need revitalization, especially education. It is this revitalization that leads to valuing all people, no matter what.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
The work of Dr. Bill Plotkin affirms and supports the work we are up to at Springhouse. Dr. Plotkin puts forth an eco-centric human development model and invites us into a deeper relationship with ourselves, each other, and the planet. Bill works closely with us on our model of vitality-centered education for teens and adults. HIs book Nature and the Human Soul is one of the most important guides I have found when it comes to building culture that moves us beyond patho-adolescence and into healthy adulthood.
Right now I am reading Seth Godin’s book, The Icarus Deception, to prepare for a course I will be co-facilitating for older adolescents. It is so powerful in that it invites us all to live the life we came here to live. He talks about the difference between a safety zone and a comfort zone, and the two are not the same. He said we can be safe and be uncomfortable at the same time. Growth does require varying levels of discomfort, and I love how he speaks directly to that in the book.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Thank you! I am inspiring a movement, and I am not doing that alone — I am working beside the Springhouse team of teens and adults every day. We serve a common mission and purpose. Springhouse is a living example of what culture can be when education shifts radically to orient around life. Examples, more than ideas and dreams, bring hope. Springhouse brings hope to many around the world because of the example that it is, and now it has given rise to a movement we call the Sourced Design Network. To join the network, people first participate in a Sourced Design Lab; then they can participate in the immersion or attend monthly meetings that allow us to support each other in practicing the design principles around the world. There is also an annual gathering that celebrates vitality-centered design in all the ways it is being practiced across the globe. My hope in the long-term is that, through these case studies, the evidence will be even more clear — whole-system design change is needed, starting with education.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
A friend who I traveled around the world with in 2010 quoted these words to me from the Aboriginal activist, Lilla Watson: “If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” I am not here to save anyone. That is not within my power, and it is not my role. My role is to show up to this life as best I can — as courageously, compassionately, creatively, and clearly as I can. The human will has limits, and when those limits are respected and used in ways that tend to the common good, we can show up in ways we never imagined — at least that is my experience. Through a lot of reflection, practice, and surrender, one’s very presence can be liberating for all.
How can our readers follow you online?
If you would like to learn more about an intergenerational learning community committed to building regenerative culture now by creating and activating vitality-centered education, you can learn more about Springhouse at springhouse.org.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Dr Jenny Finn of Springhouse On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.